The present invention relates to improvements in bumpers for vehicles, and more particularly to rear bumpers for lorries.
It is known to construct mechanized vehicles, especially lorries and vans, with bumpers, particularly rear bumpers which are displaceable relative to the body and/or chassis of the vehicle. This is mostly done in order to afford more convenient access to the rear of the vehicle for loading onto or into it large volume containers or packages--or unloading such containers or packages from the vehicle.
So for instance describes U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,654 a "shiftable bumper". This patent describes a bumper which is pivotally mounted on the frame of the vehicle. The bumper can assume a "normal", upper position and can be swung downwardly, so that the access to the tail gate of the vehicle is unobstructed and can be swung down freely.
German Patent No. 24 38 828 describes an arrangement including a bumper for heavy vehicles which is connnected to the chassis with the interposition of an energy consuming member. Here, while the bumper, strictly speaking, may be considered as movable, the purpose of the arrangement is mainly absorption of mechanical shocks.